TouchWiz 2.0

Sure, Mobile World Congress kicks off in just under a week, but that doesn’t mean all the big boys are going to hold off on their product announcements. Take Samsung, for example, which today announced the S5620 Monte. Running the propriatary TouchWiz 2.0 Plus UI, the Monte features one-touch access to popular social media sites like Facebook and MySpace while supporting services such as Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and Google Sync. Physically speaking we find a 3″ WQVGA capacitive touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera, 200MB of internal memory expandable via microSD and chips for A-GPS, Wi-Fi and 3.6Mbps UMTS/HSDPA. Right now it doens’t look like the Monte is North America bound simply because it lacks the proper 3G bands, but one never knows. Pricing and availability have yet to be announced. More →

In the run up to the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, manufacturers and carriers are trying to tantalize fan bases with new and exciting products. Unfortunately there really hasn’t been anything we would deem “wow worthy” up to this point (announced officially, that is), though Samsung seems to think its short-term strategy is all that. First off, Sammy finally got around to announcing the OmniaPRO B7330, a low-end full-QWERTY number with a 320×320 display, 3 megapixel camera, FM tuner and 7.2Mbps HSDPA/2Mbps HSUPA connectivity. Second, it announced that the OmniaLITE B7300 will ship with WinMo 6.5 as with all Omnia models shipped after 6.5 goes live. Third and lastly, Samsung announced that later on in the year at a time not specified, Samsung will release WinMo 6.5 upgrades for the Omnia II i800, OmniaPRO B7320, and OmniaPRO B7610 alongside “a set of customized strategies to differentiate and expand sales of each model by appealing to a broad spectrum of user groups.” We haven’t a clue what Samsung has in mind in terms of customization, but we do have this nagging feeling that it won’t exactly knock anyone’s socks off.

There was a bit of confusion surrounding one of our scoops from earlier this month regarding a screenshot of a Best Buy inventory sheet. For those who were unclear, yes, the dates listed there are in-stock dates and not launch dates. From what we can gather so far, most (but not all) of the shipments were indeed received, but that is not confirmed. In any event, the most anticipated handset on that list was likely the Samsung Omnia II, and those who are still skeptical will be happy to learn Samsung has indeed confirmed that the handset is coming soon to Verizon. A new dedicated page on the Samsung Mobile USA site was just spied by an eagle-eyed reader and it also confirms that the Omnia II will be a Verizon exclusive, at least initially. There’s a link for those interested to sign up for an email once the handset is announced, but you can be sure you’ll read about it here long before any such email is delivered. Excited, WinMo fans?

While the US is still waiting on official word from Samsung, a carrier or anyone else in terms of when the Omnia II might touch down in the US, ai.rs blog has managed to score a whole host of screenshots from the sexy new handset. Why are we so interested in screenshots — how does TouchWiz 2.0 sitting on top of Windows Mobile 6.5 Pro sound? It appears as though Samsung has done a bang up job in covering much of the UI with touchy wizzy goodness, and ai.rs reveals a whole slew of screens — 37 in total. Truth be told, it doesn’t look bad at all. Hit the jump for a giant version of the image above along with a few more caps, and hit the read link for the rest. Mmm, UI band aids.

Think one million is impressive? Samsung announced this morning that pre-orders for its recently announced Jet handset have topped the two million mark — the highest volume pre-order in the Korean company’s history. The Jet is a well-rounded device with a 3.1-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display, 800MHz processor, new TouchWiz 2.0 user interface, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA (3.6Mbps) 900/1200, full HTML Dolfin Web browser, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, DNSe & SRS Sound Effect technology, DivX and XviD video support and Microsoft Exchange support. With all that punch packed into a sexy little package, it’s no wonder pre-orders are coming in like crazy. The Jet is slated to launch later this month in 50 countries worldwide. Anyone excited enough to take the plunge and push Samsung towards the 3 million mark?

Quite a day Samsung is having today! Following the official announcement of a pair of Omnia Pro handsets, Samsung has just announced the upcoming Samsung Jet. Sporting a full touchscreen form factor, the Jet will sport the company’s brand new TouchWiz 2.0 UI on top of the following specs: